Marketing Matters
Nostalgia for a Classic Brand Isn't Enough for Success
Have you noticed that consumers are embracing “old school” brands?
Futurist Faith Popcorn reports that 48 percent of people agree with the statement, "I’m finding myself more drawn to products that were part of my growing-up experience than ever before.”
No wonder you are seeing more marketing activity for classic brands.
Senior Strategist Allison Cenna of the worldwide communication group DDB sees four key elements to a successful retro brand revival:
• Allow consumers of all ages to discover or rediscover the product.
• Align the brand with timeless values such as authenticity, simplicity, identity, membership, independence and fun.
• Stay true to your brand’s heritage, but make your product offering contemporary.
• Build a community, and give your fans something to rally around.
Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer (PBR) definitely has no problem positioning itself as authentic. It’s been around since 1844, but it lost its cachet with modern beer drinkers. By 2001, sales had dropped 90 percent from the mid 1980s.
To resurrect the brand, PBR not only had to tap into nostalgia, but it also had to become cool. To do so, it focused marketing efforts to reinforce an underdog image, and it didn’t use traditional advertising media. Instead, it sponsored local events that supported activities their drinkers believed in.
Another authentic brand, Old Spice pushed re-discovery to Generation Y using outlandish television advertising, strong digital campaigns and grassroots marketing.
Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars have a classic shoe design that hasn’t changed much since being introduced in 1917. To reach out to new audiences, the company recruited up-and-coming designers and musicians to create products to engage wearers. To reinforce independence and fun, Converse created a website allowing consumers to customize shoes to their individual styles.
In 1968, Volkswagen sold more than 400,000 Beetles in the United States. In just 10 years, however, VW dropped the model from dealer showrooms. In order to re-introduce the car to American consumers, the new model had to acknowledge the desires of today’s drivers but stay true to the brand.
The result was a new Beetle that not only generated nostalgia but also offered contemporary features along with feelings of freedom and fun.
Ford, however, missed the boat with its re-introduction of the Thunderbird. The problem was that the designers went too far. The spirit of the car was not the same as the 1950s classic. It was too much luxury and not enough sports car.
The Rubik’s Cube, the 1980s game craze, had a limited product life cycle – maybe in part because few of us could actually solve the puzzle. But recently the cube has experienced a renaissance. Worldwide sales have soared.
The key was the creation of online communities to support the product and its fans. Want proof? There’s a dedicated website (youcandothecube.com), and more than 47,000 consumer-generated videos populate YouTube.
The message for marketers is that while nostalgia for a brand may be nice, they can benefit only if they use that nostalgia as a bridge to a product that has contemporary value.
Hemlines, Movie Tickets May Tell State of Economy read more
12/26/11
Are Baby Boomers Grinches or Big Spenders? read more
11/28/11
Consumers May Spend Less This Holiday Season read more
11/14/11
For Firms, Reputation May Be No. 1 Asset to Protect read more
10/30/11
Successful Messages Air Across Multiple Channels read more
10/17/11
Your Reading List Can Show Route to Success read more
07/18/11
Like Radiation, Is There Too Much Advertising Exposure? read more
05/02/11
Nostalgia for a Classic Brand Isn't Enough for Success read more
03/07/11
Did You Get Your Eight Hours of Media Today? read more
12/08/10
Marketers Must React as American Households Morph read more
11/15/10
